The Arkansas Feral Hog Eradication Task Force has established an anonymous reporting system to gauge just how many of the swine pests are in the state and how the current hog-removal efforts are faring.
These easily accessible reporting forms are available to report wild hogs killed or wild hogs sighted and can be completed within minutes whenever feral hogs are removed or seen within the state, according to a state news release.
Feral hogs have an estimated population of between 4 million and 5 million across the United States and are responsible for millions of dollars in damage each year to agriculture and other property. It is estimated that feral hogs are now in every Arkansas county.
The Arkansas Feral Hog Eradication Task Force was established by the Arkansas General Assembly in 2017 to draft a feral hog eradication plan for the state. Task force members include a broad range of stakeholders.
A feral hog eradication awareness campaign is planned for the coming months and will include fact sheets and resources specific to different groups of affected landowners. This campaign eventually plans to publish a Feral Hog Control Handbook that will provide information about feral hogs, assistance programs, regulations, contact information for hunters and trappers, and other resources to help landowners.
“Eradication of feral hogs in Arkansas will require the hard work of a broad range of stakeholders and the Arkansas Feral Hog Eradication Task Force has been working diligently over the past year to address problems and find solutions for the growing threat that feral hogs pose to our state,” says Arkansas Agriculture Secretary and Task Force Chairman Wes Ward.